Save the Hero
by Brandi Heir
Summary: Everyone leans on Kel for support. As a hero, she is the soldier of the people. When she needs a hero of her own, how can she cope?


this is a song fic about Kel. the song is called save the hero by beyonce. so good! i might do another song fic to it except in the modern world. i really should be working on Daughter of the Lady Knight but i heard the song and words just spewed from my fingers.

enjoy the fic. i had a lot of fun writing it.

_

* * *

I lay alone awake at night  
Sorrow fills my eyes  
But I'm not strong enough to cry  
Despite of my disguise  
I'm left with no shoulder  
But everybody wants to lean on me.  
I guess I'm their soldier.  
Well, who's gonna be mine  
_

It was a normal night for most of Corus but for majority of the palace, it was a sad night indeed. The sadness hung on the air like a wet woolen blanket, successfully muffling everything. There were no late night parties or chores being done. The servants below were laying in their beds, inexpressibly sad, and the nobles stood in each other's studies, glasses of wine in hand, looking east out of their windows, with solemn faces that couldn't bring themselves to drink the wine. For once, political differences were put aside and the sorrow was shared by all. Keladry of Mindelan was lying in her bed, numb. After the news today, she wasn't sure if life was worth living anymore.

_You have contracted a terminal disease. We don't know what it is but your body is too far along. You have about a month to live. _

Those words kept revolving around in her head. She was Keladry of Mindelan, first open lady knight, Protector of the Small, the one who finished the Scanran War, the soldier of the people! How could she fall ill to such a trivial thing as disease? Kel turned in her bed and stuffed her face in the pillow. There was nothing she wanted more then to cry. But she couldn't. She had her Yamani Mask on for so long, she couldn't find the strength to let it out. Her friends were so used to her Yamani Mask, none of them had stayed behind to offer her a shoulder to lean on. Was no one going to be _her _soldier?

* * *

"I'm just taking a walk down to the market, Neal," Kel said, rolling her eyes. "Nothing's going to happen."

Neal walked beside her, eyebrows coming together with worry. He glanced back at their friends who shared the same the same sentiment.

"Kel, we're just concerned." Roald said, catching up. Merric, Faleron, Owen, Esmond, Seaver, Shinko, Yuki, and Dom all murmured their agreement. Kel looked away and walked quicker.

"Well, don't be." She walked farther ahead of everybody as they watched her. She didn't see the worry and sorrow on their faces and lifted a hand to wipe away a tear at the corner of her eye. Who was going to save the hero? Silently, inside herself, she was crying out for help. If there was anything she wanted right now, it would be a soldier, a _hero_, of her own.

* * *

"Hey, watch it," Owen laughed as Esmond tried a sword in a small booth in the market. "You'll cut somebody's head off."

"You have a better chance of that, klutz." Esmond retorted as he examined the metal. The others laughed at their banter and continued with their conversations. Kel watched the people walking along the market, laughing and strolling, enjoying themselves. She took in the smells, the sights, and the sounds. The bread, the sweets, and the sweat of people flooded her nose while merchants hawking their wares, performer's music, and her friends. _I'll see it again. _She thought to herself. _I have time. _Secretly, she knew she was lying to herself. She knew she was living a lie. But she couldn't bring herself to stop. Maybe, if someone gave her a simple gesture or word of comfort, she could. But no one had ever told her thank you. No one had complimented her. She was having a hard time seeing the gold at the end of the rainbow.

* * *

Kel finished her exercise with her glaive and wiped the sweat from her brow with a grin. Now she could tell the ever anxious Neal that he had worried for nothing. He and the rest of her male friends had accompanied her out to the practice court to get practice of their own and to keep an eye on her. She was just opening her mouth to tell Neal that he was the new mother of the group when an exploding pain bloomed at her temples and at her heart. She cried out, falling to her knees, one hand at her temple while the other clutched her heart. Her friends bolted for her. Neal was the first to arrive and he skidded to a stop, sliding to his knees next to her.

"Kel," He said urgently. "What happened? What's going on?"

Kel didn't hear him. At that moment, she lost consciousness, and fell limp into Neal's arms. Neal swore and quickly had Owen and Faleron take her from him. As they did, he checked her pulse and her internal systems with green glowing hands. When he withdrew, it was with a panicked expression.

"Quick, we have to get her to my father _now!"_

_

* * *

_

Kel stared up at the ceiling, not really seeing it. There was no one in the room but her. A jar filled with water and some herb that would help her was hanging upside down from a small hook with a thin tube that traveled to her arm and through a needle that was bound to her skin, directing it to her veins. She lay in a hospital bed in a private room in the infirmary. The terrible news was still sinking into her mind.

_You've lost use of your legs forever. There's a possibility you might lose your arms too. _

Kel just didn't understand it. She had given up so much for her country, like her private life, and had put up with being stripped of dignity and honor in gossip. She had fought valiantly for her country. Why did this have to happen to her? It was driving her crazy. She didn't even have a family to go to. A fire at Mindelan had killed them all only two months before. Now she herself only had three weeks to live according to the healers. The door opened and Kel turned away, not willing to see anyone at this point.

"Kel? We're going to get some dinner, do you want something?" It was Roald.

"No," she said roughly, keeping the tears out of her eyes. "I'm not hungry."

The door shut afterwards and she heard her friends leaving. When everything was quiet again, she undammed the tears. They exploded out of her like the pain had and she consoled herself with that fact that soon she would see her family

* * *

Kel watched from her wheeled chair as Peachblossom played in the pasture. She longed to get on his back but Dom, who was her caretaker for the day, would hear nothing of it. Maybe she should try and override Esmond tomorrow, she had two weeks left to live, but Dom would have warned the rest of them by then. She sighed and leaned forward, trying not to let the tears escape from her eyes.

Dom himself was using the necessary only a few moments away. He had been gone a while. Kel looked around. There was no one in sight. Carefully she placed her hands on the large wheels of her chair and made her way over to the fence. Peachblossom stopped playing and pricked his ears up toward her.

"Hey boy, want to go for a ride?" She called as she raised her arms to reach the topmost tier of the fence. With a grunt, she lifted herself up and somehow managed to pull one of her legs over the rail with her hand before her other arm collapsed. Peachblossom walked over and lay down next to the fence, nickering and looking back at her. She grinned and slid off the fence, landing in a heap. She draped herself halfway over Peachblossom's back and picked one leg up, placing it on his other side. Once she was situated to Peachblossom's satisfaction, he neighed and stood up, Kel gripping his mane for support. Dom chose that moment to reappear, readjusting his breeches. For some reason, Kel would never be able to fathom what possessed her, she waved to him.

"Dom!" She yelled. He looked up, surprised. His face paled when he saw where she was.

"Kel! What are you doing? Get off him!" He shouted , hurrying over.

"Let's go for a ride, Dom!" She laughed and nudged Peachblossom with her left hand. Obediently, he turned right, toward the Royal Forest. Leaning forward, like she had so many times before a joust, she whispered in his ear, "Charge!"

Peachblossom did.

* * *

After her wild ride with Peachblossom, which resulted in majority of her friends riding out after her and an enormous scalding scolding from Yuki and Shinko, Kel wasn't allowed out of her friends' sight. It continued that way until one day, when Kel had only a week longer to live, that she found herself alone. She didn't know that her friends were going to be late but she didn't care. She was fed up with their constant watching. If she had a week to live, then by the Gods she was going to make the most of it!

She spent a lot of the day wandering Corus by herself. By now everyone had heard that the Protector of the Small was ill with an uncontagious disease that no healer could cure. People bowed to her respectfully on the streets and little children came up to her with garlands of flowers while adults gave her their condolences. Though Kel felt smothered and lost, she answered each cordially and politely. Finally she escaped to the Temple of the Great Mother Goddess where after every priestess, apprentice, and guardian offered their prayers, she was able to have peace to herself.

She was before the statue of the Great Mother Goddess when she decided herself. She pushed herself off the chair, letting the blanket she wore over her legs fall to the floor. The chair wheeled backwards into a corner. She let herself fall to the ground and arranged hers legs in the Yamani _lotus_ position used for meditation. And that was what she did. Meditate.

* * *

"I can't find her anywhere!" Merric gasped as he reported back to Neal after helping everyone search the palace for Kel. Peachblossom was in his stall so she couldn't be out riding. All her weapons were in place so practicing was out of the question. She wasn't in the infirmary, kitchens, or dining halls of the palace or any of the big eating houses in Corus' city.

"No one in the palace knows where she is." Faleron said as he walked in, panting.

"Same verdict." Dom agreed as he and Esmond returned. Yuki and Shinko walked in with Owen who looked harried.

"We didn't find her." Owen mumbled, rubbing his face. Just them Roald entered, out of breath.

"I found her!" He breathed.

* * *

Kel had lost herself in her meditation. All she knew was blackness, silence, and her own breath. But her peace was shattered by the sound of shouts and a scuffle. Crinkling her nose, she focused on trying to let the noise wash over her but she couldn't. With a sigh, she turned to see the commotion only to find herself face to face with the head priestess of the Temple, who looked like she was trying very hard not to laugh.

"There are some men outside who wish very much to see you. If you would like, I can relay a message or I may help you out to them since men are no allowed on the Goddess' ground."

Kel let out a huff of air, blowing her newly formed bangs out of her eyes. Trust Neal and his cohorts to find her.

"Would you please help me to them, Priestess? I fear that they will be the ones in need of an infirmary if I don't."

The priestess let a smile show. "Of course, we can't have that."

That was how Kel found her friends. Neal arguing fiercely with two guardians who blocked his way with her other friends shouting agreement with him. Taking a deep breath, she raised herself slightly by the arms of the chair as the priestess wheeled her closer.

"Hey, your racket is giving me a headache, Neal. Shut it!"

Startled, the boys broke off their argument and looked at her.

"Kel?" Dom was the first to recover. "Is this where you've been all day?"

"As a matter of fact, no. I've been all over Corus." She replied sharply. "I've just been here for a while."

"You wandered Corus? By yourself?" Neal cried. "Someone could have hurt you!"

"Well, no one did so you can stop your nagging." Kel sighed, suddenly feeling very tired. "Come on, you all probably had no faith in me and spent the whole day looking for me. Let's go home." She half turned to the head priestess and bowed her head. "Thank you for your hospitality." The head priestess bowed her head back to Kel.

"You are always welcome here, Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan."

Kel couldn't help but look back as Neal wheeled her back, their friends following in their shadows. The sweeping point of the Goddess' Temple struck the moon and for a moment, Kel thought she saw a beautiful woman holding the moon as her lantern before vanishing.

* * *

Kel lay in the grass of the early morning. The birds were just waking up as the sun crested the eastern horizon and Peachblossom and Hoshi were each sleeping on either side of her, not due to wake for another hour. Kel herself had a blanket drawn over her. She had spent the night out here with her horses. It would be her last if the healers' predictions came true. In her hands, she held a small portrait done by a painter commissioned to draw her with all her friends. They were in armor, the horses too, helmets in hand, swords raised to form a star of many points. Somehow the painter had managed to capture the fierce triumph, friendship, and camaraderie they felt for each other in their expressions. Running her fingers along each person's face, she swallowed tears and picked up a notebook. Taking the pencil from behind her ear, she placed the point on the paper and began to write.

* * *

A sharp cry broke the stillness of the Knight's wing. Nine people woke to that familiar cry. None people rushed to find its source. A door opened and they were greeted with the view of the second Lady Knight on the floor, in pain.

Neal rushed forward but she flapped him away, unable to speak. She motioned toward the bed with had a picture with nine envelopes attached to it. No one made a move to pick it up as Yuki and Shinko helped her sit up. By then, her eyes were closed and her breathing came short and heavy. Every other moment her breath would hitch and her eyes squinted with pain. Finally, as they made her comfortable, she let out a deep breath.

"Who's going to save the heroes?" She whispered and let out a cry as the pain engulfed her skull. A moment later they could all see the pain had stopped but so had Keladry of Mindelan's breath.

_Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan _

_Protector of the Small_

_Died at twenty eight years of age_

_Who's going to save the hero?_

_  
Who's there to save the hero  
When she's left all alone  
And she's crying out for help  
Who's there to save the hero  
Who's there to save the girl  
After she saves the world…  
After she saves the world._

_

* * *

_Well? What do you think? review and tell me!_  
_


End file.
